


Pacific P.I.

by acedott



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Mako Mori Lives, Post-Canon Fix-It, Sibling Bonding, loving roast of raleigh, my brain wouldnt shut up until i wrote this, nothing graphic but it is there, roasting of the cw, the pentecost kids have a Type, very mild description of burn injuries at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25441651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acedott/pseuds/acedott
Summary: Mako and Jake bond over a terrible CW show.
Relationships: Mako Mori & Jake Pentecost, Raleigh Becket/Mako Mori
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Pacific P.I.

**Author's Note:**

> A shitty TV show is something that can actually be so personal...

Mako and Jake initially didn't get along. He resented her for taking more of Stacker's attention, which was already monopolized by his duties as a Ranger. She, in turn, was unsure of how to feel about him. Sensei said they were siblings now, but she felt no connection to him. He was always competitive with her, when he paid her any attention at all. She came to view him as a fellow pupil more than anything, a casual competitor but not quite an enemy. 

Both of them had noticed that their father was growing more and more tired. He barely had the energy to tuck them in at night, even with the frequent naps he took during the day. It seemed like he had a nosebleed practically every day as well. But he still went out.

Worried about him, Jake and Mako called an unofficial truce the night he went out on what was to be his final mission as a Ranger. She fiddled quietly with a Rubik's cube while he tried to get the TV to work. The set was older than both of them combined, and the raging storm was not helping the connection at all. Jake crowed in triumph when he finally managed to get a grainy picture, and immediately sat back.

"Premiering tonight on the CW," the TV blared. Mako winced at the volume and turned it down.

_Dramatic music plays. "You were the best cop in the city. Now look at you. Just another alcoholic PI." The music swells. A woman says kindly, "You need to move on from the death of your family. You need to let go." A single high note, then the music stops altogether. A muscular, blonde man says gruffly, "I'll never let go." The music returns in full force over high-action shots of car chases, gunshots, and explosions. A kaiju roars. The gruff man from before gives the camera a smoldering stare, bathed in flickering blue light the same color as his eyes. The title appears: Pacific P.I._

"He's pretty," they sighed in unison. Jake froze and looked at her fearfully. Mako offered him a tentative smile, and he grinned back in relief.

Six years later, they had an established weekly ritual: ice cream with as many toppings as the bowl can hold, and the increasingly convoluted exploits of Nick Calhoun, the show's tortured protagonist.

"You are welcome to invite the new cadet Nick to our watching nights," Mako offered teasingly one night. "I will not be offended."

Jake glared at her. "You know his name's Nate. _You_ recruited him. You train us both."

"What did I say?" she asked innocently.

He threw a cherry at her face. She smiled and added it to her ice cream.

"This is bullying, mate. This is child abuse, is what it is. I'm only fifteen, man, you're a whole adult bullying me."

She shushed him. "It's starting." He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

_The episode opens with a shirtless Calhoun jogging on the boardwalk. He gazes pensively at the sea, then continues his run._

Mako hummed appreciatively. Jake nodded his agreement.

_Onscreen, his phone rings._

_"Calhoun, we have a case. Be at the marina in 15 minutes."_

_"Mara, you know I don't go on the water anymore."_

"What is that voice though, man?" Jake asked.

"They cannot afford a dialogue coach. Too much of the budget goes towards making the kaiju appear realistic in his flashbacks," Mako joked.

He shook his head. "Priorities."

"Do you want them to recast him?"

"Don't even _joke_ about that."

"I like his voice. It's unique."

"That's just cause you've never met any Americans besides Nate or Newt."

She considered this. "That is true. But I still like his voice."

"He's pretty enough that I'll let it slide," Jake said, like he did every episode. Mako smiled at the familiarity. In the chaos of their world, this ritual was one of the few sources of stability in their lives. Even a few years later, when Jake was kicked out of the PPDC and had become part of the criminal underworld, she received texts with his thoughts on the latest episode.

Officially, since the PPDC _and_ Interpol were actively looking for him, Mako Mori had no contact with her brother. Unofficially, they texted every Thursday at 8:30/7:30c.

 _Unknown Number at 8:54 pm: wait ur telling me mara was having an affair w/ nicks wife???_ 👀

_Mako Mori at 9:15 pm: I am confused. Did Mara end things with her or did Sara die before that could happen?_

_Unknown Number at 9:17 pm: are they really having sex bc they both slept with sara? messy..._

_Mako Mori at 9:18 pm: This is worse than when they revealed the kaiju were invented in Area 51 during the Cold War._

_Unknown Number at 9:30 pm: this show has gone way off the rails. theyre lucky nick is sexy_

_Mako Mori at 9:30 pm: I will talk to you next week 🍨_

She could trace these numbers easily, even with him messaging from a different number every week, and he knew that. But they both knew that she would never take advantage of him like that. Even when she brought him back to the PPDC, he trusted that she hadn't tracked him from his barrage of texts about the season 17 finale, where a shirtless Nick either shot or was shot by his former police partner, who turned out to be the leader of the kaiju cult that had killed Mara last season in a failed attempt to bring the kaiju back.

He had taken a risk by texting her the first time a few years back, but he had seen an interview with Mako and Raleigh after the Breach was sealed and couldn't resist taking the piss. 

_Unknown number: i see u found ur own nick calhoun complete w/ weird voice. but hes hot so ill let it slide._

_Mako Mori: The next season starts next Thursday._

_Unknown number: 🍨_

There was not a force in any dimension powerful enough to interrupt the Pentecost _Pacific PI_ viewing nights. Except a second apocalypse.

After Mako's helicopter went down, Jake couldn't bring himself to watch the next season, even when Nate offered to watch with him. Jake was touched that his boyfriend was willing to do that even though he considered the show "straight up garbage," but he turned him down. It felt too much like accepting Mako was gone. And he just couldn't do that. Neither could Raleigh, who showed up at the Shatterdome at least once a week asking of there was any news, looking like a sad golden retriever every time the answer was no, which was every time.

When he came by Jake's apartment a month after the crash, Jake didn't even bother asking how he'd found his new address.

"Becket, I swear you'll be my first call if-"

"I can feel her," Raleigh interrupted. "Through the Ghost Drift."

This gave Jake pause. "When was the last time you two Drifted?"

"A few days before she left for Moyulan," he answered. "Some of the tech guys in Anchorage had a prototype for new Drift tech they needed to test, and we live nearby. Our connection went staticky when the chopper went down, but it didn't sever completely like when my brother died." There was a twinge of pain in Raleigh's face at the memory, even after all these years, but he kept going. "That's how I knew she was still out there this whole time. And now our connection is back online."

Jake was already fishing out his keys. "So where is she?"

"I'm not sure. It's just a feeling. Like playing Marco Polo. All I know is she's still in the city."

Jake started his car and gestured for Raleigh to join him. "I'll drive, you navigate."

After working their way through Tokyo on a "warmer...colder...warm again" system, Raleigh eventually directed them to stop at a tiny hospital close to the site of the crash.

"Is Mako Mori here?" Raleigh asked a doctor frantically, practically vibrating.

A doctor looked at him sympathetically, recognizing him. "I'm sorry, Ranger Becket. She is not here."

A thought occurred to Jake. "Do you have any Jane Doe's? Any patients you can't identify?"

The doctor turned their sympathetic look to Jake. "A few, Marshall. If you'd like, I can take you to see them. Normally, of course, we would not do that, but I will make an exception in this case. Though I must warn you in advance, I do not believe she is here."

"Cheers mate, thanks." They explained the system they had been using based on Raleigh's Ghost Drift and the doctor caught on quickly, although was clearly only humoring them in this process. To Raleigh's frustration, however, this system was less functional inside the hospital.

He looked close to tears. "I can't get a lock on her."

Jake clasped his shoulder kindly. "Ghost Drift isn't as reliable after time apart. You got us this close, man, we'll find her."

After walking past room after room with no luck, they walked past a room with a single occupant whose face was completely bandaged. "This is our last patient we cannot identify, outside of our mortuary. She was found trapped under a building in the days following the Mega-Kaiju's attack."

Both men drew closer. "What happened to her, doc?" Raleigh asked.

The doctor shook their head sadly. "She was found with with fourth degree burns on her face and forearms, and third degree burns on the rest of her body. It appears as though she tried to shield herself from flames. Hopefully she will be able to tell us more when she recovers her memory."

The woman in question stirred. " _Dare ga iru ka?_ " she rasped.

" _Konbanwa._ I'm Dr. Ito, ma'am, I have been treating you these past few days. I have two guests with me, who are looking for a loved one."

She relaxed. "I remember you, Doctor. I apologize for not recognizing your voice."

Jake and Raleigh both stiffened. It was severely damaged, but they knew that voice as well as their own.

"Mako?" Jake asked tentatively.

She turned her head towards him. "I know your voice. I know _you_ ," she answered after a long silence. "Though I do not remember how." She paused again. "There was a large quantity of ice cream involved."

He laughed wetly, tears spilling down his face. "Yeah, there was."

"Mako, do you remember me?" Raleigh asked softly. 

She turned her head now towards him. "I can feel you in my head," she whispered.

Raleigh began crying. "Always," he croaked.

The doctor smiled and quietly left the room, pleasantly surprised to have been wrong. Their departure was unheard over the sound of the TV in the room.

" _Previously, on Pacific PI..."_


End file.
